Maureen L. Rurka, Partner

Maureen Rurka is a litigation partner in the firm’s Chicago office who concentrates her practice on patent infringement, particularly in the area of pharmaceutical patent litigation, as well as other complex commercial matters.

Since 2001, Ms. Rurka’s practice has centered primarily on pharmaceutical patent litigation under the Hatch-Waxman Act, as well as regulatory issues involved in obtaining FDA approval for generic drugs. She also has extensive experience and knowledge in antitrust issues related to patent enforcement and settlement. Ms. Rurka has represented a number of pharmaceutical companies in patent litigation, antitrust litigation, and FDA matters, including Barr Laboratories, Teva Pharmaceuticals, Anchen Pharmaceuticals, Impax Laboratories, Morton Grove Pharmaceuticals, Sun Pharmaceuticals, Caraco Pharmaceuticals, and Abbott Laboratories. Her representations span a variety of drug products including Lexapro®, Amrix®, Angiomax®, Seroquel XR®, Razadyne IR®, Razadyne ER®, Renagel®, Renvela®, Welchol®, Intuniv®, Nasacort AQ®, Adderall XR®, Mircette®, and tamoxifen.

Most recently, Ms. Rurka was lead counsel for Anchen Pharmaceuticals in a bench trial in the District of New Jersey involving a patent on Seroquel XR. 

Ms. Rurka participated in a trial for Barr and Teva in the District of Delaware involving patents for Amrix. After a bench trial on the merits, Barr and Teva received a judgment of patent invalidity. The court found the Amrix patents invalid for obviousness. Ms. Rurka also won a favorable claim construction for Impax Laboratories in a patent infringement suit pending in the District of Maryland concerning Renvela® and Renagel®.

Some additional representative pharmaceutical matters include:

Sanofi Aventis v. Barr Laboratories (D. Del.)
Patent infringement action against Barr based on Barr’s ANDA for a generic version of Nasacort AQ®. Barr asserted noninfringement and invalidity defenses against Sanofi Aventis. After a trial on the merits, the parties settled the case on terms favorable to Barr.

In re Tamoxifen Citrate Antitrust Litigation (2d Cir.)
Antitrust action brought by 30 class action plaintiffs against Barr Laboratories and AstraZeneca for their settlement of a Hatch-Waxman patent infringement case involving tamoxifen. The district court granted Barr’s and AstraZeneca’s motion to dismiss for failure to state an antitrust claim and the Second Circuit affirmed the dismissal.

Par Pharmaceuticals v. Morton Grove Pharmaceuticals (N.D. Ill.)
Patent infringement action against Morton Grove Pharmaceuticals based on Morton Grove’s marketing of a generic version of Megace®. Morton Grove asserted patent invalidity, unenforceability and antitrust claims against Par. After a full summary judgment briefing, the parties settled the case on terms favorable to Morton Grove.

Savient Pharmaceuticals v. Duramed Pharmaceuticals (D.N.J.)
Patent infringement action brought by Savient against Duramed based on Duramed’s ANDA seeking approval to market a generic version of Mircette®. After a full summary judgment briefing, the parties settled the case on terms favorable to Duramed.

Ms. Rurka has also worked extensively on appellate matters, including working on several Federal Circuit appeals involving patent litigation, a Second Circuit appeal, and a petition for certiorari in the tamoxifen matter, and fully briefing and successfully arguing a habeas corpus appeal before the Seventh Circuit.

From 2000 to 2001, Ms. Rurka served as a law clerk for the Hon. Richard C. Tallman of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

Education

Speeches and Publications